Let Yourself Go (Green Day song)

"Let Yourself Go" is a song by American rock band Green Day. The song is featured as the fourth track on their ninth studio album ¡Uno! (2012). Written by Billie Joe Armstrong and produced by Rob Cavallo, the song was released as the third and final single from the album on September 5, 2012. However, the "official live video" of the song was revealed on August 1, 2012. It is also the third single from the ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! & ¡Tré! trilogy.

"Let Yourself Go"
Single by Green Day
from the album ¡Uno!
ReleasedSeptember 5, 2012 (2012-09-05)
Recorded2012 at Jingletown Studios in Oakland, California
Genre
Length2:57
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Green Day singles chronology
"Kill the DJ"
(2012)		 "Let Yourself Go"
(2012)		 "Stray Heart"
(2012)
Audio
"Let Yourself Go on YouTube

The song was described to be "more punk" than that of the band's previous two singles "Oh Love" and "Kill the DJ", and was compared to their 1990s material, such as Dookie and Insomniac. Its theme was described as "the kind of pop-smart here's-my-fucking-problem miniatures". It received positive critical reception and charted at number 2 on the UK Rock Chart and 17 on the US Alternative Songs chart. "Let Yourself Go" was played at secret shows of the band and at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards.

The song is featured in the 2017 film Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.

Recording and release
Rob Cavallo produced the song with Green Day

After "Let Yourself Go" was played at a 'secret New York Halloween show' of the band on October 27, 2011,[1] Green Day began recording new material for ¡Uno! on February 14, 2012,[2][3] and the song was confirmed with the revelation of the track listing of ¡Uno! on June 26, 2012.[4]

Followed by the release of the "official live video" for "Let Yourself Go" on August 1, 2012, recorded during their performance at Austin, Texas.[5] it was released as a single on September 5, 2012.[6] The song was written by Billie Joe Armstrong and produced by the band along with their long time collaborator Rob Cavallo.[7]

The song debuted on the US Rock Songs and US Alternative Songs at numbers 36 and 34 respectively,[8] peaking at number 29 on the US Rock chart and number 17 on the Alternative Songs chart.[8] "Let Yourself Go" reached number 2 on the UK Rock Chart,[9] and peaked at number 99 on the Dutch Single Top 100 and number 49 on the South Korean Gaon Chart.[10][11]

Theme and composition

"Let Yourself Go" was described as a return to punk rock and pop punk in contrast to the band's previous two singles "Oh Love" and "Kill the DJ" by VH1's Zara Golden.[13] The song was stylistically compared to their 1990s roots with a tone and style that imitates the band's work from Dookie and Insomniac.[14] Slant Magazine had said that it also reflects the style of Van Halen from the 1980s.[12]

David Fricke of the Rolling Stone in a review of ¡Uno! compared the theme of the song with "Stay the Night", another song on the album, stating; "'Stay the Night' and 'Let Yourself Go' are the kind of pop-smart here's-my-fucking-problem miniatures Armstrong was writing like second nature when he, Dirnt and Cool were too young to drink (legally) where they gigged. But Armstrong is 40 now, married and a dad, and a lot of this ruckus sounds designed to drown out the time bombs ticking in his head and the maddening static outside".[15]

Critical reception

The song received positive reception from the critics, mainly focusing on the song's references to Green Day's stylistic origins. Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone praised the song, describing it as a "blistering [and] Ramones-tinged [song]."[1] Katie Hasty of HitFix added to the song's familiarity, stating "It's back to the melodic, snotty sound of early Green Day, with some spit shine and a few f-bombs."[16] At The Reporter, Stephen Moore described that the song was a "rant and snarl encouragingly" in which "[Cool's] rapid-fire drumming [was] conjuring up some of the Dookie magic".[17]

Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune stated that the song was "undeniably sharp, [and] catchy" which was "hurtling on a wave of harmony vocals".[18] Yorgo Douramacos at Slant Magazine noted it as an "occasional guitar solo" and further added that the song "steers a straightforward punk anthem toward early-'80s Van Halen territory."[12] Randall Roberts from the Los Angeles Times described the song to be an "obvious chart-buster" and added that it would "no doubt be used to back NFL highlight reels for years to come."[19] Scott Heisel from Alternative Press cited the song to be the fastest on the album by observing with "breaking 200 bpms and creating an instant sing-along with perfectly placed profanity. It's destined to become a live staple."[20]

Live performances
Armstrong was hospitalized three days before the band's performance at VMA.

Green Day played a secret-show in Costa Mesa, California on August 11, 2011, where they performed various songs from the upcoming album, including "Let Yourself Go".[21] Later on, the song was also played at few other secret shows of the band. A recording of the band performing the song live at Red 7 in Austin, Texas on November 17, 2011 was released online on July 30, 2012 as the "official live video" for the song.[5]

The band was touring in Italy five days prior to their performance at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong was hospitalized due to dehydration and influenza. This caused the band to cancel their show at Bologna which was scheduled three days before their performance at the VMAs.[22] However, Armstrong recovered and the band performed "Let Yourself Go" at the VMAs.[23]

Credits and personnel

Chart positions
Chart (2012–13) Peak
position
Canada Rock (Billboard)[24] 9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 99
Italy (FIMI)[25] 57
South Korea (Gaon Chart)[11] 49
UK Rock (Official Charts Company)[9] 2
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[26] 17
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[8] 29
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[26] 11
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[26] 13

References
  1. Futterman, Erica. "Green Day Preview Stadium-Ready New Songs at New York Halloween Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  2. Montgomery, James (February 15, 2012). "Green Day Start Recording New Album". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  3. Corner, Lewis (June 11, 2012). "Green Day confirm new albums '¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré!' release dates". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi Médias. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  4. "¡UNO! INFO". GreenDay.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  5. "Green Day: "Let Yourself Go" - (Official Live Video)". Warner Bros. Records. August 1, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  6. "iTunes – Music – Let Yourself Go – Single by Green Day". iTunes. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  7. "Let Yourself Go" (CD liner). Green Day. Reprise Records. 2012. 531973-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. "Latest Music News, Band, Artist, Musician & Music Video News". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  9. "2012-09-22 Top 40 Rock & Metal Singles Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  10. Steffen Hung. "Green Day — Let Yourself Go". Dutch Charts. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  11. "South Korea Gaon International Chart (Week: September 23, 2012 to September 29, 2012)". Gaon Chart.
  12. Douramacos, Yorgo. "Green Day Uno". Slant Magazine. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  13. "Green Day 'Let Yourself Go' Back To Their Punk Rock Days With New Song At The MTV VMAs". VH1. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  14. "Green Day unveil new '¡Uno!' track 'Let Yourself Go' - listen". NME. September 6, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  15. Fricke, David. "Green Day". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  16. Hasty, Katie (September 6, 2012). "Listen: Green Day releases 'Let Yourself Go'; Billie Joe Armstrong out of hospital". HitFix. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  17. "Album review: Green Day - ¡Uno!". The Reporter. Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  18. Kot, Greg (September 27, 2012). "Album review: Green Day, 'Uno'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  19. Roberts, Randall (September 24, 2012). "Critic's Notebook: Green Day's '¡Uno!' is, No. 1, overly commercial". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  20. Heisel, Scott. "¡Uno!". Alternative Press. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  21. O'Donnell, Kevin. "Green Day Debut New Songs, Winehouse Tribute". Spin. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  22. Montgomery, James (September 6, 2012). "Exclusive: Green Day Give An Update On Billie Joe Armstrong's Illness". MTV. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  23. "Green Day ready for VMAs". Belfast Telegraph. September 5, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  24. "Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  25. "Green Day - FIMI: Database Top of the Music". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  26. "Let Yourself Go — Green Day". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
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